For the first time since taking office in late 2015, Gov. Matt Bevin has exercised his ability to restore civil rights to ex-felons.

Bevin filed 24 restorations of civil rights this week, which will allow two dozen people to vote again, according to Bradford Queen, spokesman for Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes's office. The Secretary of State received the governor's orders on Monday.

These orders restore the right to vote and hold public office but do not restore some other civil rights, like the right to possess a gun or serve on a jury. These restorations are the first ones Bevin has issued since he became governor, Queen said. Kentucky's constitution only allows the governor to restore these rights.

In a statement Monday afternoon, the governor's office said the new orders exclude people convicted of violent offenses, sex crimes, bribery or treason.

"We have always been a nation of second chances," Bevin said in the news release. "Through this executive action, we are empowering men and women with the opportunity to become contributing members of our communities...There will be many more such opportunities granted in the months and years ahead."

State Rep. Darryl Owens, D-Louisville, said it was good news that Bevin had restored some rights to two dozen people, but the governor still has a long list of applicants who want their rights back too.

“Obviously what he did is not significant in terms of numbers. It’s significant to the individual, and I’m happy for them," Owens said.

Democrat Steve Beshear issued more than 9,000 restorations during his tenure as governor from Dec. 2007 to Dec. 2015.

Kentucky's last Republican governor before Bevin, Ernie Fletcher, issued 1,108 restorations during his sole term in office from late 2003 to late 2007, according to the Secretary of State's office. Fletcher filed a few hundred of those orders during his first year-or-so as governor.

Unlike Beshear and Fletcher, Bevin waited over a year after his inauguration before personally ordering the restoration of anyone's rights.

Bevin has indicated that criminal justice reform is one of his top priorities. He formed a policy assessment council last year that was tasked with researching and recommending ways to improve the state's criminal justice system, and he backed a bill the Kentucky legislature approved this year that includes reforms meant to make it easier for ex-prisoners to transition back into society. He also ordered the state government's executive branch to stop including questions about a person's criminal record on its job applications.

Kate Miller, advocacy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, said states vary in how they handle the issue of rights restoration but that Kentucky's approach is one of the most restrictive. The ACLU supports a long-term effort to make Kentucky a state that permits the automatic restoration of voting rights to former felons and hopes Bevin will support that goal too, she said.

"We need to modernize the system so that everyone’s able to take advantage of it, and we don’t have this unnecessary red tape standing in the way of someone’s right to vote," Miller said. "But in the meantime, we absolutely believe the governor should continue to restore voting rights to Kentuckians."